USC Made Millions Selling Corpses for Israeli War Training
Unclaimed U.S. corpses ended up on dissection tables for IOF military drills, sparking outrage over ethics, consent, and dignity.
PUREWILAYAH.COM – Washington, Oct 03, 2025 – Shocking revelations have exposed that the University of Southern California (USC) supplied human cadavers for use in military trauma training programs attended by Israeli occupation Forces (IOF) personnel, raising grave questions over human dignity, consent, and the ethics of medical research tied to war.
Millions Paid for Cadavers
Documents reviewed by Annenberg Media show that since 2017, the U.S. Navy has paid USC more than $860,000 for at least 89 “fresh cadaver bodies”, with 32 of them directly used by IOF medical teams at Los Angeles General Medical Center.
One active contract still allows another $225,000 in cadaver purchases through September 2026, bringing the total to nearly $1.1 million over the past seven years.
While these cadaver agreements make up less than 1% of USC’s Navy contracts, researchers could not identify any other U.S. university providing corpses for Israeli military training.
Inside the IOF Trauma Training
The Navy Trauma Training Center (NTTC) at L.A. General oversees the controversial courses. U.S. Navy personnel undergo a 30-day combat medicine rotation, while Israeli teams receive 96 hours of intensive trauma sessions.
According to the leaked contracts, IOF surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses practiced on both non-perfused and perfused cadavers, the latter artificially pumped with blood to simulate battlefield conditions. Each IOF course reportedly uses three cadavers, with multiple courses held annually.
Consent, Ethics, and Unclaimed Bodies
A key source of these cadavers is the Los Angeles County Office of Decedent Affairs, which handles unclaimed remains destined for cremation or mass burial. Others are supplied through USC’s Anatomical Gift Program.
Medical ethicists have condemned the practice. “Even though they’re deceased, they still deserve dignity and proper treatment,” said Thomas Champney, anatomy professor at the University of Miami.
He stressed that unlike organ donation, cadaver use lacks strict regulation, with “blanket consent” policies that do not account for foreign military exploitation.
Critics note that unclaimed bodies never gave informed consent. A physician at USC’s Keck School of Medicine, who leaked the documents, stated bluntly: “The facility wasn’t designed to save lives. It was just to desensitize people to the trauma.”
USC and Navy Response
When pressed, USC referred questions to Los Angeles General, which insisted that “no foreign nationals participate through the L.A. County and US Navy contract.”
However, the hospital admitted that foreign militaries, including Israelis, gain access under separate agreements with the Navy and USC.
The Keck School of Medicine defended the program, framing it as essential trauma preparation: “Since 2013, international medical personnel, including Israeli surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists, have participated in Navy-sponsored courses.”
Archived Navy releases confirm that Israeli trauma training began in 2013, four years before cadaver contracts were formalized.
Profiting From Death Amid Genocide
Each training session’s contract covers refrigeration, antibody testing, surgical equipment, and blood-flow simulation, requiring nearly 100 hours of staff and technician labor.
U.S. military officials argue that the program “strengthens ties with one of our key military allies.”
But for many students and staff at USC, the revelations are intolerable. “USC profits off of this. It’s disgusting,” said one medical student at a campus panel. “If I were asked to work in that lab, I’d refuse.”
The controversy comes as the IOF continues its bloody campaign in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. Families of the deceased in Los Angeles may never know that their unclaimed relatives’ bodies were used in combat training for an army accused of genocide. (PW)
Source: Al-Mayadeen